#14 Girls' Outing

We started our journey to a nearby restaurant once everyone arrived. Luckily I had money on me or else Mia would be the one treating me again. I didn't know our exact destination so I just followed wherever they went, until we arrived in front of a ramen shop.

The smell of ramen was alluring. I've never had one before so I didn't know what to do when they gave me the menu. The illustrations looked alike except for the toppings.

"Amanda, have you decided on what to get?"

I stared blankly at the menu while trying to figure out the difference between ramen and udon. They looked just like the pasta we usually had at home so why did they have different names?

Mia realized I was in trouble and explained to me, "This is a ramen shop so people usually order their ramen here but they do sell udon too."

I tilted my head in confusion because she did not just not answer my question but led me into further confusion.

Why would you sell udon in a ramen shop? Well, whatever. That's not my main point.

"What's the difference between ramen and udon?"

"They don't really have any difference in their tastes but ramen is usually yellow and thin while udon is white and thick," Mia explained while showing me how thick it was with her fingers.

I didn't quite get it but it seemed like ramen was closer to pasta so I ordered that with eel.

I looked around the shop while waiting for the food to be served and realized we took nearly half of the small ramen shop already.

We chatted for a little while the chefs were cooking in the kitchen. Natasha was unexpectedly talkative which surprised us.

"Natasha, were you really the one who broke the windows last time?"

"Yes, that was me."

"Then what about the rumor about you getting plastic surgery overseas?"

"It wasn't easy but I managed to change my look until I could barely recognize myself."

They flooded her with questions until our food came. She was calmed and composed when she answered them. Not to mention, she had a smile on her face the whole time.

"Let's dig in!" We took a bite from everyone's bowl so we could taste everything. There were various foods placed in my mouth until I couldn't taste the eel in my bowl.

We discussed our plans after lunch and decided to head to an arcade. We booked three taxis because we couldn't fit everyone in one.

"Then, let's meet at the arcade."

Five of us went up the first car while the other 11 waited for the other two cars to arrive. My group reached the arcade first so we decided to head in before them.

It was my first time going to an arcade so everything there was foreign to me. I looked around in amusement. The illuminations were so bright it nearly blinded me. Games filled every corner of the arcade which filled my eyes with excitement to play everything.

Mia chuckled when she saw me wandering around as a first-timer.

"We should go to an amusement park next time, that would make your jaws drop since you've never been to one."

I continued to look around and realized something. There were holes small enough to fit coins on every machine. Mia told me we needed to purchase coins with real money before playing. She went to the counter and I followed behind her.

I was surprised to see her speaking to the cashier so smooth without stuttering like she was used to it. She then told me she often accompanies her younger siblings to play and she had to do all the purchasing.

The lady at the counter handed a few bags of coins to Mia when she paid some amount of money. I wanted to pay her back but she refused to take the money. Not again, Mia was treating me to something.

We met up with the others when they arrived and divided the coins among ourselves. I proceeded to choose which game to play. Most of them needed two or more coins so I went to look for those with one coin. I didn't want to use it up too quickly or else I wouldn't be able to play anymore.

Mia realized I haven't used a single coin and asked me for the reason so I told her.

"Use however much you want, we can always buy them again when you run out," Mia went to play the dancing game which required four coins.

I was taken aback by her skills. Her steps were on beat and she hit almost everything right. There was a crowd gathering around her before I knew it. They were all amused by her excellency in the game.

I decided to have a try after she was done since it seemed fun. I couldn't do well at first but it was actually pretty easy once I got used to it. After a few tries,I was able to get a score near Mia's.

Everyone played to their hearts' content and played almost everything there. It was just a matter of time until we ran out of coins completely. I took out my phone to check the time and realized we still had some time left before evening, so I suggested we go to the bookstore.

I looked for some romance novels since I've almost finished reading those at home. I didn't really like reading but I picked up this hobby when my phone was confiscated and had nothing else to do. There were some mystery novels that caught my interest too so I bought them before leaving the bookstore.

I waited for the other girls outside of the bookstore while scrolling through social media to kill time. Mia came out after some time with her hands full of stuff.

"Sigh. Books sure are heavy." She bought novels of most genres like she has taken the whole rack of books. "What time is it now?"

I checked the time and realized it was already evening. We waited for the others to finish their business in the bookstore before booking three taxis back. I texted Alice and as expected, she nagged me before saying she would be on her way.

When we finally returned to our school, most of their cars had already arrived and Alice was one of them. I got into the car and was surprised when she drove towards the hospital.

"Are we visiting mother?" I asked Alice when she parked in front of the lobby.

"Do you not want to?" She looked at me.

"No, that's not it." I got out of the car and she told me to contact her when I was ready to go home.

I got the card to my mother's room from the receptionists. I knocked on the door before entering and saw her sitting up. It was reassuring to see her drinking water normally. She shifted her gaze to me when I sat on the chair beside her bed.

"I heard you went out with your friends today after school?"

Jeez. Alice ran her mouth again.

"Yes, it was fun," I boiled the water for her when I realized the cattle was empty.

She was smiling when I talked about my day. I told her how good Mia was at dancing and how many tries I did just to get a score near hers. My mother was amazed I went to an arcade out of all the places. She was expecting me to go to a coffee shop or something of the sorts.

I felt like I've talked enough about myself so I asked about my mother's health instead.

"Mother, did you get any better?"

"This is a deadly disease that will never get any better."

Hearing those words from her made me feel down. I told her I wouldn't go anywhere a long as she's alive but what I did was spend time with my friends over a family member who was near to meeting the grim Reaper.

"You should spend more time like this while you're young," she added, "You'll regret it later when you're older, you don't have time to play anymore."

I thought about it and realized what she said was true. Work would overwhelm me and I would become an expressionless human being like when mother took over father's job. She was able to smile more since she was admitted to the hospital and stopped working.

We chatted a little more before the sky turned dark. I contacted Alice and left as soon as she arrived.

"Good night, mother."

When I reached home, my sister was already waiting for me at the dining table. I went to my room to put down my things before heading to the dining room for dinner.

"You're late, Amanda."

"I went to visit our mother. You should have eaten before me if you're hungry."

"It's fine, I'm following mother's footsteps."